Q&A: Importance of Dress Code

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Q&A: Salon Dress Code

Featuring, Summit Salon Consultant, Maria Isaac
*Podcast Available Below*

Dress code is important to a salon company because it completes the culture. It shows the service providers true commitment to being the best they can be and also shows the guests the true experience they are looking for.

It is important to remember that each stylist has their own personal style and they want to be able to dress to that! Each stylist is going to attract their own type of clientele, however, the way one stylist is dressing should not affect the way another is doing business. Most salon companies have stylists of all ages and each should be free to dress the way they want.

1. What counts as a Dress Code?

Dress code doesn’t have to be super complicated, it can be as simple as dress work professional, you can wear jeans but you must dress them up! Can’t have holes in jeans, etc. As long as they have a simple guideline to help them dress the way they want to dress and be a good example of what the salon company is all about.

The most important part is to ensure that your dress code matches your brand. If your brand is marketed and designed as a high end place- be careful allowing JEANS or casual shoes. If you are known as the TRENDY spot – be careful in limiting the creativity of your team!

 2. Why do Salon Owner’s HESITATE to enforce a dress code?

I think salon owners are hesitant to enforce a dress code because they are scared of the backlash that can come from enforcing anything. But I think this is why you should get the team in the conversation, if they are helping to decide the dress code they can’t be upset with it. It’s tough to hold EVERYONE accountable and to have the tough conversations with people when they aren’t in dress code.

3. How do you implement a Salon Dress Code

Have the team help decide on a dress code! Make a Pinterest page for the team to pin appropriate outfits to so they can get an idea for what really falls under the dress code. It doesn’t need to be super strict, but we want the guests to feel like we are providing an elevated service and experience and our clothes should match that!

4. What are some best practices in how Salon Owners can hold their service providers accountable to following the dress code?

Create a salon pinterest page specific for the dress code, share it with the team! Create a page of things that aren’t okay to wear also! It’s something, for us anyways, that has changed as styles change. We are now allowing specific athletic shoes, all leather and all one color to help protect the stylist from having feet or back problems. Specifically because they are so in style right now.

5. If someone continually is showing up out of dress code, what can/should be done?

We recently had this happen in our salon company, and as a leadership team we decided to take a step back. The particular stylist had her best month ever and was set to jump to the next level, if she is dressing in a way that hasn’t negatively affected her business then we decided to worry about other things. If she’s killing it behind the chair, why should it matter if she’s wearing something that I wouldn’t wear.

HOWEVER– if it is inappropriate and negatively affecting herself or the other staff then it’s a bigger convo, but being honest is key. “Hey listen, I think your outfit is adorable, but we’ve had a few guests make comments on it, and it doesn’t quite fit into the dress code.”

Subscriber Comments:

“We have an all black bress code with a splash of color. During summer Fridays and Saturdays are the only days we implament. However, we have an everyday beauty policy… We are beauty, we sale beauty therefore you must show beauty inside and out. So I post pictures of each stylist usually a pic of them from their own social media pages on what makeup looks like on them because if varies from one person to the next. I love the Pinterest page idea!”
-Tasheika Cole

“I want to ask them, ” what would you pay yourself to have a service with you, dressed In the outfit your wearing? Tell me about this outfit and how it fits into the salon brand and salon experience.” I just find the day gets away. Love the idea of having a conversation and building a Pinterest page of do’s and don’ts.”
-Emily Garver

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What do YOU think?
What issues have you had with implementing dress code in your salon company?

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